ELF (European Lung foundation) says: To help understand different lung conditions and to maintain healthy lungs, we should be familiar with how the lungs look and work.

Trading placesOxygen from the air enters the blood, and carbon dioxide from the body trades places with the oxygen by leaving the blood and entering the alveoli. Carbon dioxide is then exhaled out of the lungs. Oxygen must enter the blood and carbon dioxide must leave the blood at a regular rate for our body to function correctly.Blood vesselsThe lungs also have two sets of blood vessels. Blood vessels can be arteries or veins. One set of blood vessels feeds into and nourishes the lung, whilst the other set is responsible for transporting oxygen from the lung to the body via the heart.Oxygen around the bodyBlood that has collected oxygen from the lungs goes to the left side of the heart and is pumped around the body to deliver oxygen-rich blood (called arterial blood). After the blood has delivered oxygen to the cells of the body (skin, organs, etc.) it is called venous blood, and returns to the right side of the heart. Venous blood contains high amounts of carbon dioxide and small amounts of oxygen. The venous blood returns to the lungs to get rid of carbon dioxide and to pick up oxygen.

Not enough oxygenWhen the lungs are unable to take in enough oxygen or oxygen is blocked from getting into the blood, the lung tries to protect itself by shutting down some blood vessels. The heart then has to pump the same amount of blood as usual through fewer blood vessels. This puts added stress on the heart. The back-up of blood causes the heart to work harder and often results in the heart becoming enlarged. This is termed cor pulmonale or right heart failure.

I stay confused. I thought we wanted our heart to work harder for some given time.. Is it not called strenuous exercise? I read reports where it is not a matter of bringing up your heart beat but endurance. then i read keep the heart up to some given beats per minute is better than strenuous which is synomous with icreasedd heart rate????I walk 2 hours a day at a moderate rate and they say in white paper studies that it is better to stress the heart out for some given short time.

Hi everyone, I'm new here. Not computer savvy, so I think it will be a miracle if this actually posts! I'm a 69 yr old female, was diagnosed with emphysema 9 months ago, and have been pretty desperate for a chat room/support group/ anything! I think I now have a pretty positive attitude and think that this site sounds pretty positive, which is really good. Hope this is getting through.

Hello all, I too was diagnosed with emphysema in December after a mild stroke. I was put on 3 litres of O2 24/7 and was told I would remain this way possibly for the rest of my life. Last month after a ct I was told that I am forming pleural plaque due to asbestos exposure from 31 years in refrigeration. Yesterday I went to the doctor for bad wheezing and chest congestion. I was put on a 5 day regiment of antibiotic and Advair. I am 59 and retired thinking retirement would be wonderful but now I am feeling overwhelmed and quite frankly scared to death. I have started walking about 3 miles on a 6% grade 4 times a week. I hope to make friendships and to learn as much I can to improve my quality of life.Thank you

Is it still COPD if it's only your ability to absorb O2 that's affected?Plenty of confusion for me since I've had heart tests that were normal and Spirometer tests that also seem normal, in that there is no fluid in my lungs,and resting lung function seems fine.It's only when I exert myself that my O2 level goes down.I'm also trying to figure out what questions I should be asking on my next trip to the doctor.

I have 97% oxygen, pass Spirometer tests, and can sit for a few hours sometimes without oxygen and breathing normally; however, when I start to walk or try to do a chore, I am out of breath and can hardly breathe to where I need to use my nebulizer. I had a echo bubble test and a heart stress done and there were no holes in my heart.

The main thing is you exercise under guidance. Secondly, you sometimes (depends on the rehab center) learn more about your copd and how to handle symptoms, when to call your doctor if something is "different". The only time I went to rehab is prior to my LVRS at Duke and they had us go 5 days a week for 4 hours a day. It was great!! Plus you're with others who have the same problems you have.

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For the newly diagnosed my best suggestion is get on a vigorous exercise routine. Few things will help more than exercise to build endurance and muscle strength. Then you have to stay with it. Exercise helps your body use oxygen more efficiently, strong muscles use less oxygen to do the same amount of work as weaker ones, and exercise helps with the inevitable depression or anxiety. Exercise capacity diminishes rapidly if a person stops. Then it takes a lot to get back to your base and you may never regain it all. Don't stop. it is the worst thing you can do. Exercise follows the rules of physics. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest. If you are at rest, you have to overcome inertia. If you exercise a week straight to overcome inertia it is much easier to stay in motion after that. What are you waiting for reading my dribble. Get to it. Get on it. Get out there.

Cor Pulmonale generally doesn't happen until later stages of the disease. I've had COPD for 15 yrs (diagnosed) and my heart tests normal on annual echocardiograms. I'm not much of an athlete any more - my longest treadmill work currently is 1.7 mph for 5 minutes flat surface- after that just too exhausted to go on. It has, however built up strength in my legs which was a big problem. My FEV1 is 23% which means that I can blow air out of my lungs at 23% the capacity of most women of my age, height and weight. I am what they call "End Stage" or "Stage 4" - which just means that there are no more drugs or treatments they can provide that would be of any therapeutic value. We have a pulmonary rehab program I went through once - after 2 weeks in ICU - while it did build up my muscles somewhat it more due to what I was doing between sessions not during - the therapists were nearly always late, most of them worthless and lazy (quit 10 min early) all in a 1 hour session. My husband has been through a wonderful cardiac rehab program at a different hospital that made a huge difference for him but I guess they divided up the work - one Hospital took cardio the other pulmonary. At any rate - you can SAFELY exercise without developing and probably preventing heart problems - of course ask your doctor for advice before undertaking any fitness program. But even if it's only 5 minutes a day - go for 6 minutes the next day. When I was in my "prime" about 5 yrs ago (and at FEV1 36%) I worked up to where my dog and I could walk slowly outside for 1.5 miles most days. She was very chubby and so was I - helped us both slim down and feel better. But since an illness 2 yrs ago I've never been able to get past the 5-6 minute mark on a treadmill and I have a very fat dog. To wrap up ANYTHING you can do to improve your heart and muscle function will take a load off your lungs - losing weight would be another reasonable thing to do unless you are already at a good weight. Talk to your Dr. find a good rehab center near you and get him/her to refer you to it - you may need pre-approval by insurance. My sats were so bad that I was automatically approved, so if you are denied talk to your doctor about exercises you can safely do. Walking, light hand and foot weights etc.